BOOK VIII. 



327 





A HEAD OF THE SLUICE. B SIDE-BOARDS. C LOWER END OF THE SLUICE. 

 D POCKETS. E GROOVES. F STOOLS. G SHOVEL. H TUB SET BELOW. 



I LAUNDER. 



Some people cut a number of cross-grooves, one palm distant from each 

 other, in a sluice similarly composed of three planks eight feet long. The 

 upper edge of these grooves is sloping, that the particles of gold may slip into 

 them when the washer stirs the sand with a wooden shovel ; but their lower 

 edge is vertical so that the gold particles may thus be unable to slide 

 out of them. As soon as these grooves are full of gold particles mixed 

 with fine sand, the sluice is removed from the stools and raised up on its 

 head. The head in this case is nothing but the upper end of the planks 

 of which the sluice is composed. In this way the metallic particles, being 

 turned over backward, fall into another tub, for the small stones and gravel 

 have rolled down the sluice. Some people place large bowls under the 

 sluice instead of tubs, and as in the other cases, the unclean concentrates are 

 washed in the small bowl. 



The Thuringians cut rounded pockets, a digit in diameter and depth, in 

 the head of the sluice, and at the same time they cut grooves reaching from 

 one to another. The sluice itself they cover with canvas. The sand which 



